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After President Obama’s $447
billion jobs bill failed to clear a supermajority hurdle in the
Senate on Tuesday, it’s on to Plan B – break up the bill and pass
the elements that can attract bipartisan support.

Despite partisan attacks on this bill, there is common ground,
especially around tax cuts and incentives for businesses to hire
and invest.

But Republicans promise strong resistance to any new spending
that resembles the president’s 2009 stimulus plan, which they say
added $787 billion to the national deficit without creating new
jobs.

For Democrats, even failed votes on some of these elements are a
chance to highlight differences with Republicans, setting themes
for the 2012 campaign.

Here’s how some of the leading elements of Mr. Obama's jobs bill
are likely to fare standing on their own:

$240 billion to extend a 2 percent Social Security payroll tax cut
through 2012. While supporting the concept of tax cuts, House
Republicans are wary of the jolt to workers when this payroll tax
reverts to its full level in 2013. They also oppose paying for it
with higher taxes for the highest income-earners. Still, cutting
taxes is instant common ground between the White House and a new House GOP majority. So
far, the public doesn’t view this measure as sapping resources
for a popular entitlement program.

New tax breaks for small businesses, to hire workers.
Combining tax cuts and small business has broad appeal across
party lines. The kicker is how to pay for it. The White House
proposes expanding employer tax credits for hiring disabled
veterans (up to $4,800) and unemployed veterans (up to $2,400),
which are now set to expire at the end of this year. “We believe
there is an opportunity to make meaningful and significant
progress in this area,” said House Republicans in a Sept. 16 memo
responding to Mr. Obama’s jobs proposal.

$50 billion for roads and school repairs, and $10 billion for
a new “national infrastructure bank.” Anything that smacks of
stimulus spending is suspect to Republicans, but infrastructure
is one topic on Capitol Hill that often has bipartisan
agreement to spend more. House Republicans say some 100
existing federal transportation programs are duplicative and
waste money on mandatory set asides. They propose resolving
these issues in the current debate over a multi-year
transportation authorization bill.

$30 billion in new aid to local governments to prevent
layoffs of teachers, firefighters, and police. This is a hard
sell for Republicans, who described a similar $53.6 billion item
in Obama’s 2009 stimulus plan as pandering to his party’s base,
especially powerful teachers unions. They also criticize the
proposal for providing one-time raises or a reprieve, then
jolting workers later when the money runs out.

$15 billion to refurbish foreclosed homes. A nonstarter for
Republicans, who say a similar program for $7 billion in
Neighborhood Stabilization grants didn’t work.

$450 billion in tax hikes on incomes over $1 million.
Democrats proposed a 5.6
percent surcharge as an alternative to Obama’s suggested hike
on incomes over $250,000, including cuts to charitable
deductions. The president backed the switch. But tax cuts are
toxic to most Republicans, who dubbed the millionaires' tax
“class warfare.”

Tuesday's vote showed that Obama’s jobs bill was a nonstarter in
the Senate. Republicans opposed it unanimously, and even
Democrats were divided about various pieces of the package.
Still, it fared better than the president’s fiscal year 2012
budget, which received zero votes in the Senate from either
Democrats or Republicans.

“I know [the jobs bill] was put together with good intentions,
but it will cost another half-trillion which we desperately need
to reduce our debt, which will create jobs,” said
Senator Lieberman in a floor speech before the vote. Still,
pressured by Democrats to present a united front, he voted for
the bill.

In the last hours, Senate Democratic leaders secured a bare
majority in favor, extending the voting period to give Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) of
New Hampshire time to fly
back to Washington.

But with US unemployment stuck above 9
percent – 16 percent, counting discouraged workers and
involuntary part-timers – doing nothing on jobs is not an option
for members of Congress, or the president.

“Tonight’s vote is by no means the end of this fight,” said Obama
in a statement after Tuesday's vote. “In the coming days, members
of Congress will have to take a stand on whether they believe we
should put teachers, construction workers, police officers, and
firefighters back on the job.”

Until the Senate defeat, the White House had opposed breaking up
the jobs bill. The president’s call for stand-alone votes could
be to find consensus or to force Republicans to take tough votes,
sharpening a “do nothing Congress” narrative for the 2012
campaign. “With so many Americans out of work and so many
families struggling, we can’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” he said.

Meanwhile, Republicans renewed calls to break up the bill,
focusing on elements that reduce the size and scope of government
and rein in regulations that increase costs or uncertainty for
businesses – their own narrative for the 2012 campaign.

“The president sent us a bill that he knew would never be
returned to his desk,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R) of
Wyoming, vice chairman of the
Senate Republican conference, in a statement after the vote. “We
need to work together on legislation that will help the private
sector create jobs without further breaking Washington’s bank."